


just by the dipper

by asiannoodles



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Cute, Fluff, M/M, Romance, Science Fiction, kiho monthly, space fantasy, treasure planet inspired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-04-06 13:34:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14058063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asiannoodles/pseuds/asiannoodles
Summary: It takes one night for Hoseok to fall back in love with the brightest star in his universe.





	just by the dipper

**Author's Note:**

> for kiho monthly: [sci-fi](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-nxC3PW_Z0) (march)
> 
> pls excuse me for being like an hour late past march  
> i promise i'll be on time next month otl  
>  

“Kihyun! The drinks!”

“Coming!”

Kihyun scrambled to wipe the sweat on his  hands on his apron front and walked briskly to the kitchen where the chef handed him a tray full of drinks through the open kitchen window. The chef looked at him, barking out what tables they went to before going  back to grilling.

As he balanced the tray of colorful drinks on his arm, Kihyun noticed that it was going to a table of Fluvarians. Fluvarians were cute, Kihyun had always thought. They looked like little puppies with stubby arms and legs and  big sea green eyes that always seemed happy whenever he had seen them. Their faces lit up as he arrived with their bright neon drinks, looking positively like puppies to Kihyun. They reminded him of his days back on Earth.

“I’ve got four milkshakes for this table!” he chirped happily, grinning as he watched all of them perk up in their seats. He set the shakes down one by one and chuckled as the smaller children grabbed at them.

“Settle down,” their mother chastised them.

Kihyun watched with a smile as they did so. “So,” he said, “you’re all from Fluvion, right?”

“That’s right!” the one he assumed was the father spoke up. He had a small little mustache. “We’re on a cross galaxy trip for the kids’ summer vacation.”

“Oh, how neat! Where’s your next destination?”

The mother hummed before replying, “I believe next we’re going to cruise around Sector 514  before heading to Earth.”

Kihyun’s face lit up. “Earth! I was born on Earth!”

“Oh, really?” the mother Fluvarian said, a row of bright blue teeth staring back at him. “You must know the good spots on Earth then?”

“I’m not sure I do,” Kihyun admitted sheepishly as he scratched the nape of his neck. “I haven’t been to Earth since I moved to this planet… Although, I’m sure the canyons are always a sight to see! You must definitely go there.”

“Oh, yes, we’ve marked that spot as a definite go-to.” The father chuckled, his mustache wiggling as he did so.

Kihyun smiled, breathing through his nose softly in a sigh. “It must be so nice traveling,” he whispered. He ruffled one of the child Fluvarians and chuckled, “Make sure you appreciate it! I never got to travel this much as a kid.”

“You boys should listen to him,” their mother teased.

Kihyun smiled at them one last time before beginning to leave. “Anyways, if you guys need anything, just flag me down!” He waved to them before heading back to the kitchen window and sighing.

“You spent a long time talking to that family over there,” the chef commented, his third eye judging Kihyun momentarily before looking back at the grill.

Kihyun only rolled his eyes and put his tray on the counter. “I just wanted to _talk_ to them, Jaegon.”

“What for?”

“I don’t know,” Kihyun said defensively. “Their traveling plans just seemed interesting, is all. Small conversation for a tip later. The usual.”

“Mm-hm,” Jaegon sang mockingly. “Nothing to do with that stupid wanderlust thing you’ve got, right?”

“Wanderlust—!” Kihyun choked. He pursed his lips together and furrowed his eyebrows in embarrassment as the chef laughed at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about! Where’s table five’s food?”

Jaegon only laughed and rolled all three of his eyes. He tilted his chin towards the restaurant and said, “Shae took your table.”

“She did—?”

“Yeah, your cakes are almost ready so she took your table so you could pull them out.”

“Oh!” Kihyun gasped as he scurried into the kitchen.

Kihyun had worked and baked here for years. This place was a diner, styled and inspired by old diners back on Earth where Kihyun was born. He didn’t remember when his family packed their bags and flew to this planet but it was probably the first and last time he had ever gone on a ship. And ever since then, he had grown up on this planet until his parents died and even afterwards, he had stayed here and worked his whole life. Despite being born on Earth, his life there was just a distant memory.

He could never really say he traveled here from Earth if he didn’t remember what the traveling was like.

He had been absolutely okay with his life. Working every day and making money and then going home to his comfortable apartment. There wasn’t anything wrong with it. Sure, he spent his money paying for his parents’ medical bills before they died and he couldn’t go to college but that was okay. He had a job and a roof over his head. He didn't need any other accessories to live well. He got along with people at work and found joy in talking with customers.

At least, he had been okay with all of this up until a few months prior. Something inside of Kihyun began eating at his heart the more he talked with customers who were using their diner as a pit stop on a bigger journey. Something twisted in his stomach every time the televisions in the diner would play commercials about travel deals and flight prices. Jaegon had laughed at him when he talked about it, calling it dumb wanderlust and that it would fade quickly.

But it didn’t seem to fade—in fact, in only seemed to grow. Kihyun’s interest in adventure movies got larger and the books he read seemed to gravitate towards destination stories or more adventures. Kihyun had never traveled before, but the taste of it seemed to be right at the tip of his tongue if he could just reach out and grab it. Maybe it was because Kihyun had stayed in one place for most of his life and he spent most of it working, but the urge to travel around the galaxy had never been stronger.

Kihyun hissed softly as the hot air from the oven blasted him in the face. Reaching in with some mitts, he pulled out the freshly made cake of his. It was an Earth recipe from his mother that had been passed down to him. Kihyun wasn't one to brag but this recipe was what made their diner so special in the first place. Strawberry shortcake wasn't very accessible unless it was from an Earth style place and Kihyun made the best one of all.

“Hey, that cake looks super good.”

Kihyun turned to see his co-worker, a girl with bright pink hair and purple skin named Shae, smiling at him. “Yeah,” he nodded in agreement. “This one came out perfect.”

“Don’t all your cakes come out perfect though?” she teased as she placed some dishes in the sink. “If I get one more customer asking me to give the compliments to the pastry chef around here I think my ears will fall off.”

“Guess your ears are going to fall off then,” he laughed. He slipped the sponge cake into the refrigerator to cool and took out the one he had already cooled from earlier. “Is there still cake left for serving?” he asked her.

Shae shook her head and said, “The last slice was given maybe… ten minutes ago? There’s someone who’s waiting for a slice.”

“Okay.” Kihyun nodded as he began slicing the cake into two layers. “Tell them it’ll be out in less than ten minutes!”

“Will do!”

Kihyun was left alone as he finished filling the cake with some whipped frosting and sliced strawberries. If there was anything Kihyun could remember from Earth, it was the taste of strawberries. Nothing would ever be as sweet as the strawberries his mother would give to him as a kid. He might not have remembered much, but he remembered that at the very least.

Maybe his wanderlust was just him missing his memories on Earth. That must have been it.

  
  
  


“Kihyun!”

Kihyun looked up from behind the counter, where he was setting a chocolate cake down to cool. “Hm?” he asked.

Shae hung from the double kitchen entrance doors and sang, “Someone here wants to give you their compliments.”

“Which customer?”

“The one who got the first slice of your strawberry shortcake from earlier.”

“Oh, he’s still here?”

Shae raised her eyebrows in amusement as she tapped her fingers rhythmically on the door. “Yeah, actually, for a while. I told him you were working and he said he’d wait for you to get off your shift instead of interrupting you.”

Kihyun shot a confused look towards her. “Well that’s certainly polite…” He glanced up at the clock and read the symbols. “I just finished another cake, so I guess I can take my break early if he wants to talk. You can…? Handle everything until I come back, right?”

“Of course.” Shae nodded. “Just leave it to me! He’s at table five.”

“Got it.”

Untying his apron from around his waist and hanging it up, Kihyun walked out of the kitchen with brisk steps, searching for the customer that wished to speak with him. He spotted table five at once, immediately notice the lone man who sat there, sipping his coffee as he drew circles onto the table with his finger. Kihyun pulled a bright smile onto his face as he went over to the table.

“Hi!” he said warmly as he approached. “I’m the pastry chef here and I was told you enjoyed my strawberry shortcake. I just—”

Kihyun would have liked to finish his sentence. Had the stranger not looked up, he probably would have finished his sentence. But before he could, Kihyun found himself freezing right in the middle of his sentence because the man that looked up at him was a handsome man that he recognized. A head of black hair was swept back to show off a pair of sparkling eyes and bright smile. Something about his face made Kihyun’s words get stuck in his throat.

“…Hoseok?”

The man’s eyes filled with confusion before lighting up. “Ki…Kihyun? Is that you?”

Kihyun broke out into a grin as the man stood up. “Yeah, it’s—oh my gosh, I haven’t seen you in so long.” He let out a laugh of disbelief as he gave Hoseok an awkward one armed hug. “We haven’t seen each other in years. What are you doing here?”

“I was stopping on Eotheon and I remembered that they had really good Earth food here,” Hoseok replied, his eyes wide. “I didn’t know you worked here.”

“Yeah, I got a job here a month or so after you left.” Kihyun blinked rapidly, still trying to make sense of the chance that his ex boyfriend had showed up at this diner after so many years.

Hoseok grinned at him and said, “Wow. That’s so… that’s so crazy. We have to catch up!”

“Definitely!” Kihyun agreed. He checked the clock and said. “My break ends in ten minutes but I get off my shift in two hours…? If you’re going to be staying that long.”

“I’m in town for the next few days or so for some business, so I’d love to catch up after your shift if you’re free.” Hoseok smiled at him. “We can go to that old cafe we used to go to?”

Kihyun replied, “I’m free after I get off, so definitely! I’ll… see you then?”

Hoseok responded that he would be there for sure since he was the one who invited Kihyun. And then with a great smile, he said that he would go and freshen up for a bit before coming back to see Kihyun. It felt a little strange to smile and wave as Hoseok left and when Kihyun went back into the kitchen, he let out a breath he didn’t even realize he had been holding. Shae gave him a strange look, her bright aqua eyes sparkling as she regarded him.

“Did you just flirt with a customer and score a date?”

Kihyun almost rolled his eyes as he returned to his cakes. _“No._ I did _not.”_

“So what I heard about meeting up at a cafe later isn’t true?”

“Well, that’s true but… he’s not just a customer.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Kihyun pursed his lips as he focused on frosting his cake. “I, um, well—…He was my ex.”

Shae’s eyes widened as she said, “That’s kind of awkward.”

“Um, just a little,” Kihyun chuckled. “But it’s been years and I think we’re past what happened to us enough to be able to catch up like normal humans.”

“Well, more power to you, I guess. I know I could never talk to my ex again, no matter how long it’s been.”

Kihyun shrugged. “Maybe things are different between us.”

Shae only raised her eyebrows as she hoisted a tray of food into her hands and walked out. “Maybe,” she sang.

  
  
  
  


Spotting Hoseok in the cafe wasn’t hard, not when he was the only human sitting there. Kihyun has to take a couple deep breaths before walking over to him. Hoseok still looked just as good as the day he left. His eyes were still bright and sparkling, even if they were a little weathered. They even lit up the same way when he saw Kihyun approaching him. Kihyun’s heart quickened a little when Hoseok stood up to welcome him.

Hoseok said that he hoped Kihyun wouldn’t mind that he went ahead and ordered some drinks. Specifically, drinks that they used to drink when they went there in the past. A glass of steaming pink liquid and a mug topped with fluorescent purple foam sat on the table. It brought back vivid memories to Kihyun’s head—memories of when they would come down here after school got out and just talk and drink. How Hoseok would always get a glittering purple mustache whenever he drank and Kihyun would wipe it off for him affectionately. There were also two squares of brownies that were black like the galaxy sky they looked at but sprinkled with things that shined like stars. It looked like a small square of the universe cut right out of the sky and it tasted like chocolate.

Kihyun wondered if the actual universe tasted like chocolate too.

“I’m so glad to be able to see you again.” Hoseok smiled at Kihyun after a few minutes of silence. The awkwardness of meeting again after years was unavoidable, no matter how close they had been in the past. But something about being able to look into Hoseok’s eyes again felt comforting. “Even after all these years.”

Kihyun smiled back at him and said, “Me too… How have you been?”

“Pretty good,” Hoseok answered curtly. “I have to say, I’m a little surprised that I was able to run into you again.”

“Really?” Kihyun raised his eyebrow and tilted his head with a soft smile. “Why’s that?”

Hoseok shrugged as he leaned back in his seat. “I figured you would have left already. You always went on about how you didn’t want to stay stuck here forever.”

“Oh, that…” Kihyun smiled sheepishly as he held his cup with both hands. “I… I don’t know, um, I guess things just didn’t work out the way I wanted it to.”

Chuckling, Hoseok rested his chin in his hand.  “Weird. You always were so fascinated with the stars and what was out there. I was sure that after I left, you would have also.”

Kihyun hummed to himself. “Well… after my parents passed, I didn’t have much income I could go traveling with so… I got a job and I’ve been working ever since.”

Hoseok’s face visibly dimmed as he straightened his back. “I’m… I’m sorry to hear that,” he murmured.

“Don’t be, it was long ago.” Kihyun smiled at him warmly. “Not much I can say about it now.”

“Still. I’m sorry I couldn’t… attend the funeral or anything.”

“It’s fine, Hoseok,” Kihyun said quietly. He took a deep breath and then smiled a little brighter. “But let’s talk about you! How have you been since you left? You look great.”

“You think so?” Hoseok asked playfully. “I feel like I’ve lost weight.”

“What? Nonsense, you look great!”

“Captaining an airship doesn’t give me as much time to work out like I used to,” he laughed.

“Are you sure?” Kihyun teased. “You look more defined than ever.”

Hoseok let out another chuckle and looked down at his chest. “My shirt might be giving you an illusion.”

Somehow, the awkwardness that had been sitting on their shoulders dissolved naturally. The more they caught up, the more Kihyun smiled and thought to himself, maybe the rift between them wasn’t as deep as he anticipated. In fact, it was like they had almost never even spent seven years apart.  Talking was easy and Kihyun found himself relaxing the longer they spent time together. Time passed quickly as they spoke about what they did in their years. Hoseok was living the life he wanted—he was captaining airships and traveling all over the galaxy. It was the kind of life Kihyun could only dream of.

Hoseok had been to so many places. He told Kihyun all sorts of stories about when he had docked on a planet that shined so bright, it was like daytime all the time. The people there had to find a technology to dim their homes so they could sleep. On another planet he went to, there were flowers that glowed and looked like they were made of crystals. He claimed he was reminded of Kihyun there the most. It almost made Kihyun blush, being compared to bright, glowing flowers. Hoseok still knew how to make his heart beat faster.

Before they knew it, Hoseok was walking Kihyun back to his home under the bright light of their large moon and talking his ear off about more stories about all the places he had been.

They were a block away from Kihyun’s home when Hoseok asked, “Do you ever think about leaving?”

Kihyun blinked. “I… Not really,” he lied. “I have no reason to leave. And besides, I have a stable job and everything.”

“So you don’t think about traveling?” Hoseok asked, his eyes soft. “The Kihyun I knew would never stop talking about where we’d travel together once he could get the money.”

“That Kihyun is a little outdated now,” Kihyun chuckled, wrapping his arms around his torso. “The Kihyun these days doesn’t have much time to dream.”

The corner of Hoseok’s lips pulled up into a gentle smile. “Really? Not even a small daydream?”

Kihyun chuckled breathily. “Okay well… _maybe_ some small daydreams here and there. Definitely not as much as I used to.”

“Sometimes,” Hoseok smiled, “when I’m a little homesick I think of you. I think of the way you would smile if you could see everything I did. And I know that’s… that’s so out of place for me to say. Especially since we’re not dating anymore.” He chuckled sheepishly as he reached up to scratch his neck. “Even though we broke up… I guess I could just never get you off of my mind.”

Kihyun could feel his cheeks heating up as he said, “It’s okay. You’re not the only one. I-I… I missed you a lot too.”

“You did?”

“Of course.” Kihyun smiled softly as he stared down at the glowing sidewalk beneath their feet. “I remember the day you left. So clearly… I—” He pursed his lips before smiling again. “I can still remember how heartbroken you looked when you had to let go of my hand at the docks.”

Hoseok spared a glance in Kihyun’s direction. “You could have come with me, you know. We could have seen the universe together.”

“You know why I couldn’t go with you,” Kihyun sighed briefly. “I couldn’t go, Hoseok—not with both of my parents being sick.”

“Yeah…” Hoseok murmured as he looked up to the sky. “I know. Sometimes, I just wish it could have been different though.”

“Me too,” Kihyun admitted quietly. “And I do daydream, a lot actually, about what I could have seen. Or where you could have taken me.”

The silence between them was soft, _patient._ It seemed like the tears of their separation were  piecing together slowly. And Kihyun briefly wondered if they would have broken up at all had Hoseok never left.

  
  
  
  


“Kihyun… Kihyun!”

With a frightened gasp, Kihyun sat up abruptly.

Kihyun was sitting alone in his room. Hoseok had walked him home about forty minutes prior, dropping him off with a warm hug and well wishes. He wondered if he would ever see Hoseok again after this night.

With a large sigh, Kihyun fell backwards onto his mattress, his hair still damp from a shower. Maybe he should have made more plans with Hoseok. This one night alone felt too pitiful of a reunion after so many years apart. Perhaps he could have even leaned in and given Hoseok a soft kiss like the way he used to do when they were younger.

Although, he figured, that would be crossing a line. He didn’t even know if Hoseok still had feelings for him.

But after seeing Hoseok again, he couldn’t deny the feelings that resurfaced in his heart once more. And it felt so stupid because it had been seven years since they last saw each other in person but here he was, and Kihyun had never felt more torn in his life. He had wanted to do nothing more than to reach out and touch Hoseok’s cheek and kiss him softly on the lips.

Kihyun had been shaken out of his reverie when he heard a loud rap at his window pane and his name being called. He sat up abruptly and let out a heavy breath when he saw Hoseok at his window, tapping on it with the biggest grin on his face. Kihyun swallowed his heartbeat as he stood up and went to the window, pressing a button and watching as the glass dissolved with a beep.

“What are you… what are you doing here?” he gasped sharply, still breathing heavily from the shock.

Hoseok smiled at him, resting his hands on the windowsill. “Remember when I used to climb to your window? And we would look at the stars and planets and point at where we wanted to go?”

Kihyun smiled and rolled his eyes. Hoseok had always been so sentimental. “Okay. But we were in high school and I lived on the first floor.” He scrunched his eyebrows. “How did you get to my window anyways, I live kind of high…”

Peeking out his window, Kihyun let out at a gasp at the small metal device Hoseok was standing on. It floated off the ground. It looked no larger than Kihyun’s bed and it whirred with some kind of technology. It was shaped like a boat and sloped into two poles at each end. Hoseok stood in it and held onto a pole with various buttons. It reminded Kihyun of a gondola. Or even maybe a hammock.

Hoseok smiled at Kihyun’s awed reaction and whispered, “I know we said goodbye earlier but I kind of don’t want to say goodbye yet.”

Kihyun snickered at him, pulling the towel on his head closer as to hide his warming cheeks. “Okay…” he prompted.

“And, I don’t know.” Hoseok’s cheeks were flushed with excitement as he grinned. “I wanted to spend more time with you. I’m only going to be here for a few days and seeing you again just makes me want to—! I don’t know!” He chuckled and continued, “Something just! I don’t know, when we said goodbye something made my heart start beating and I ran to my ship and I had to come back and—!”

“Hoseok,” Kihyun interrupted softly. “Slow down,” he laughed.

“Sorry.” He smiled. “I was getting a little excited. But I wanted to ask if you would maybe… want to go on an adventure with me?”

“An… adventure?” Kihyun said with a small laugh of disbelief. “What do you mean?”

“I know you want to travel,” Hoseok said softly, leaning into the window. “I know you said you were okay with just staying here, but Kihyun, we dated for years. I can tell when you’re lying.”

Kihyun’s face flushed even more and he pulled his towel in further. “Oh,” he laughed. “You noticed?”

“A little.” Hoseok grinned.

“But surely you can’t be taking joyrides on your equipment,” Kihyun said, peeking over the edge of the window again to look at his hovering boat. “What is it…?”

Hoseok grabbed onto the lever and pressed a button. The device rose higher so that it was directly in front of Kihyun’s window. “It’s like a boat,” he said. “Like those lifeboats on Earth. Technically these are only for emergency purposes but I wanted to… I wanted to come here with it.”

Kihyun leaned on his window and looked up at him. “Why?”

“While I’m still here, I want to take you somewhere. This thing can’t go very far but it can get us to the next planet.”

Kihyun’s eyes widened. “The next planet…? And then back here? In one night?”

“Of course.” Hoseok smiled at him. “That is… if you want to go. I can’t help you travel very far but… I thought maybe you’d like to see it. Besides, I hear the planet next door is holding a festival.”

Kihyun bit his lower lip—it was tempting to say the least. He wasn’t sure what made him step onto his windowsill and grab Hoseok’s outstretched hand. Maybe it was because of  the wanderlust of his youth creeping back into his heart and filling him with desire. Maybe it was the simple wish of just holding Hoseok’s hand again. But Kihyun took his hand and let Hoseok pull him up onto the small boat. His feet took a moment to figure out how to balance but once he did, Hoseok smiled brightly at him and set off.

  
  
  
  


Exhilarating couldn’t even begin to describe how it felt. Kihyun wondered if Hoseok got to feel the wind blowing through his hair like this every day when he sailed the airship he was captain of. If it was, Kihyun had never felt more envious in his life.

The grin that appeared on his face was unavoidable as the wind whistled past his ears. He even found himself laugh at the top of his lungs just from sheer excitement. Hoseok stood at the front of the boat, steering it while occasionally glancing back at Kihyun to smile because Kihyun looked so happy and so free. Every time Kihyun lost his balance, he would let out a high giggle and grip onto Hoseok’s shirt and Hoseok felt his heart soaring with the wind.

It was all so amazing to Kihyun. The second they took off, he was already able to see the universe in a different light. There were so many colorful clusters of stars as Hoseok flew them into the sky. Stars whizzed past him like streetlights and they shined so bright against the dark purple and blue color of the vast universe. Colorful planets that Kihyun could usually  only see from his window shined invitingly in the distance. It felt surreal to think that he was going to go to one of them.

“Kihyun,” Hoseok said.

Kihyun tore his gaze away from everything around him and asked, “Yes?”

“Sit down.”

“Okay…” Kihyun said as he lowered himself down slowly.

“Reach your hand out.”

Kihyun’s eyes widened slightly and the light from the stars around them reflected in his irises so brightly as he timidly reached his hand out. With a knowing smile, Hoseok slowed their airboat down and flew towards a small cluster of stars that looked like a circle of white sparkles. Kihyun’s eyes grew larger as they neared and he extended his fingers out, like he was desperate to touch anything beyond his fingertips.

Hoseok was careful as he steered them into the small stars. Nothing could have prepared his heart for the way Kihyun gasped in amazement when his hand ran through the light and the light rippled in dance in multiple colors. Pinks, purples and greens danced off of Kihyun’s skin and his smile was so large, Hoseok felt his heart leap into his throat.

Kihyun’s eyes sparkled and reflected all the colors he stared unblinkingly at. He laughed in wonder as Hoseok steered them further into the cluster and enveloped them both in a rainbow of colors. Kihyun stood at the farthest edge of the boat, gasping in amazement as the light from the stars seemed create waves as the boat touched them. The light sprayed around them like drops of water and Hoseok couldn’t stop the smile on his face as Kihyun gazed around in awe.

“Hoseok,” he breathed as he stood up and spun around slowly. The grin on his face was so bright. “Hoseok, this is beautiful.”

“It is, isn’t it? It takes my breath away each time I go through one.”

Kihyun laughed as he reached out his hand again and watched as the light showered him with color. “It’s amazing!”

There was something about the way Kihyun smiled as he hung off the edge of the boat with his arm outstretched towards the stars and the wind tousling his hair that sent Hoseok’s heart into a flurry. He knew that if he wasn’t steering the small boat, he might have taken Kihyun’s hand into his and kissed it.

  
  
  
  


The sound of a bustling festival became clearer the closer the boat got to the planet. Hoseok could see Kihyun getting visibly excited the closer they got. He was nearly jumping out of the boat when all the lights and crowds of people came into view. He clutched onto the front of the boat excitedly and Hoseok chuckled, telling him that he had to wait for Hoseok to dock the boat before they could get out. Despite fidgeting excitedly in his seat, Kihyun listened and waited for the boat to be docked and tethered before jumping out excitedly.

The sounds and smells of the festival was enough to make Kihyun’s smile widen farther. Hoseok was sure that if he smiled any harder, his face would crack. He was like a puppy just waiting for Hoseok’s permission to explore. Hoseok only had to nod once before Kihyun was flying off into the masses and navigating his way around the food booths.

Colorful lanterns that were strung above their heads filled Kihyun’s eyes with color as Hoseok followed close behind. Kihyun might have been the one grinning, but Hoseok was sure that he was smiling ear to ear also as Kihyun stopped to stare at various booths. One green skinned alien with antennae was selling all sorts of soft toys and another booth had a lady hosting a game for young kids to play. Hoseok watched a mother encourage her child for a few minutes before realizing that Kihyun had dashed off without him.

“Kihyun?” he called into the crowd. “Kihyun!” He didn’t receive an answer but after a few more moments of searching through the mass of people, he found Kihyun smiling as he received a small paper tray of food. Hoseok came up to him. “Kihyun, tell me when you run off so we don’t get lost, okay?”

Kihyun smiled up at him. “Sorry,” he chuckled sheepishly. “I just got really excited. You want try this with me?” He held up the tray of softly glowing food in his hands.

“What is it?” Hoseok asked as he stared at it. They were some sort of balls on a stick, glowing with a soft fluorescence.

“I don’t know!” Kihyun shrugged with a laugh. He picked one of the sticks up and pulled off a ball with his mouth, looking up in thought as he chewed it. “It’s nice,” he said. “Try it.”

He held it up for Hoseok to bite off some for himself. Hoseok hummed in interest. “Hm! It’s pretty good.”

“Right!” Kihyun agreed as he ate some more.

Kihyun went back and forth between his mouth and Hoseok’s, sharing the food he had bought. It brought Hoseok back to when Kihyun would feed him food he made from his kitchen. Something about it made Hoseok’s heart beat a little harder still.

Suddenly in the distance, they heard the sound of drums and music begin to play. Kihyun’s ears perked up and he looked into the direction of the sound. “What’s that?”

Hoseok peered over as much as he could. “Looks like some kind of… street performance?”

“Let’s go!” Kihyun said excitedly.

He grabbed Hoseok’s hand instinctively and rushed forward before stopping in his tracks. Freezing in his spot, Kihyun turned his head around to stare at their interlocked hands. “Oh…” he murmured as he softly let go. “Sorry, I-I didn’t mean to.”

Hoseok stared at his hand and Kihyun’s downcast gaze before slipping his hand back into Kihyun’s. “Actually…” he said, “I’m okay with it. If you are.”

Kihyun’s eyebrow raised as he asked, “You are?”

“Yeah, of course. Are you okay if we… hold hands?”

Kihyun smiled as his fingers tightened into Hoseok’s. “Yeah… Yeah, I’m more than okay.”

  
  
  
  


After watching street performers and playing some more game booths, Hoseok and Kihyun began to get exhausted from the excitement. Soon they were walking back hand and hand to the boat and floating away from the planet. Kihyun never knew that just going to a planet so close by would give him an adventure already.

Instead of going back to bring Kihyun home immediately, Hoseok drifted them into another belt of stars. He could never get tired of the way Kihyun’s eyes lit up when he was surrounded by stars. Hoseok set the boat afloat, taking a seat next to Kihyun as he stared at the stars around them.

“Mm,” Kihyun whispered under his breath. He rested his cheeks against his folded arms on the edge of the boat and smiled romantically at the stars that floated around them like fireflies. He reached out and touched one, smiling in delight at how it danced on his palm.

“If you look over there,” Hoseok said, pointing his finger in the distance, “it’s the big dipper. We’re really close to it.”

Kihyun grinned and sighed breathily. “I could get used to this,” he murmured.

Hoseok smiled softly at him as he leaned back on his hands. “Yeah?”

“Mm-hm.” Kihyun nodded. “I wish I could do this every day. I love my job and the people there but I see this and… _wow.”_ He looked at Hoseok. “You know?”

Hoseok’s heart skipped a beat as he stared at Kihyun and the sparkles in his eyes. “Yeah,” he replied. “I think I know.”

Kihyun’s face broke into a bigger smile as he stared down at his lap sheepishly. “I’m honestly still in such a daze at the fact that you brought me out here and let me experience all this.”

“It’s nothing,” Hoseok smiled. “I felt like you probably deserved something like this.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you said all you’ve done since your parents passed was work and support yourself. You couldn’t even travel like you wanted. And I know I can’t give much, but I wanted to do this at least.”

Kihyun smiled bittersweetly as he focused on the stars around them. “Yeah, but those are wishes from the past. I’m older now, I think I can put travel on the backseat.”

“But why?” Hoseok asked. “Why don’t you want to travel?”

“I do want to. I just… I don’t know. It feels like it might be too late?” Kihyun said in a soft voice. “I’ve been here most of my life. It feels like I should just stay and make the most of it.”

“What? Kihyun, it’s never too late to travel.” Kihyun only shrugged softly and Hoseok continued, “I know you’re comfortable where you are, but don’t you want to see the world? Before you really can’t travel?”

“Do you think I can?” Kihyun asked gently.

Hoseok looked out into the universe, watching how clusters of stars and planets moved around slowly. “You know, back then I—… I never meant to leave you alone. I didn’t want to leave you by yourself to take care of your parents as I went on to pursue what I wanted. But you just kept telling me to be a success while you would take care of things on your own. And I felt so bad for leaving you.”

“Hoseok, you didn’t have to be.”

“No, I didn’t have to be, but I was because we were planning to go across the universe together. And I was the only one that went when it should have been both of us.” He reached out and grabbed Kihyun’s hand gently. “You should get to see the universe too.”

Kihyun smiled at him. “Hoseok, there’s no way for me to do that now. All of my money goes towards bills and groceries.”

Hoseok swallowed and stammered out, “What if… W-What if there was a way?”

“...What?”

“I know this is sudden,” Hoseok said, scratching the back of his neck. “But if you want to… you can come with me.” Kihyun’s eyes were wide as Hoseok continued. “It’s been one night but just having you near me again made me remember why I wanted to captain an airship in the first place. I did it so we could travel the universe together. And tonight just proved that it would still be the reason I fly.”

“Hoseok…”

“Kihyun, I know we’re broken up and I know we’ve spent so much time apart but I’ll never forget how much I wanted to have you by my side when I fly my ship. Even now, I would be honored if you accompanied me around the universe.” Hoseok let out a soft breath as he whispered, “Because I’ve sailed across a thousand stars and seen a million suns but you’re still the brightest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Kihyun didn’t have an answer. It seemed that he _couldn’t_ answer. But it didn’t need to when pulling Hoseok forward and kissing him soft on the lips like he wanted to do all night was answer enough. When he pulled away, Hoseok’s eyes were bright as he reached up to hold Kihyun’s face in his hands.

“So… so you’ll come with me? You let me sail you away to the stars? See what the galaxy has to offer us?”

Biting his lip in an attempt to conceal his smile, Kihyun replied, “Yeah. I would love to.”

Hoseok pulled him in for a kiss again and Kihyun thought that perhaps it wasn’t really the travel bug that had bit him. Perhaps not. The desire to travel had been in him for years but he never felt it was strong enough to act upon it. But with Hoseok here, he realized that maybe it wasn’t travel that enticed him. Maybe it was the desire to travel alongside Hoseok like he had wanted to years ago when they were younger. Maybe it was the desire to keep that promise they had made to each other even after all these years.

Kihyun never had a reason to say traveling was worth leaving his home for. But sitting here in Hoseok’s arms with his lips against his, it seemed that he had found his reason.

  
  
  
  


“Hey, where’s Kihyun?”

Jaegon gave a sideways smile to Shae and said, “You didn’t hear?”

“Hear what?”

“Kihyun quit. He called in and quit and packed up all his things and got onto that airship that landed here a few days ago.”

Shae’s eyes widened. “He did?”

“Yeah.” Jaegon snickered. “Kihyun just up and left.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

Shae looked down at the floor and then laughed quietly to herself. “Well.” She smiled. “It was about time.”

**Author's Note:**

> i've always wanted to make something that was somewhat treasure planet themed! :> so consider this my piece!  
> the song i linked in the beginning note really helped me when writing this fic. hope you give it a listen, maybe while u read even! 
> 
> anyways!!! i really hope u enjoyed !  
> remember u can find me on twitter @kkulseoki!  
> see you all next time!


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